My ex was ordered to pay child support recently. He makes about $10 more per hour than I do, but he took a lot of time off this year to do cash side jobs, so on paper, our incomes look similar. I have the kids most of the time, with him only getting them two nights every other weekend. We also have daycare expenses.
His support order came out pretty high, and he is really upset. Now he’s appealing and hired an expensive lawyer. I already have an attorney for custody (he suddenly wants 3 nights a week now, probably because they asked about it at the child support hearing), but I can’t afford to hire them for this too.
I pay the mortgage, all the bills, daycare, and the $30k in debt he left me with. Meanwhile, his only expense is about $1k a month since he lives with family.
What should I expect from this appeal? What might his lawyer try to argue to lower his support? I have text messages where he admitted to working cash jobs. Can those be used? I know they can’t count cash income without proof, but he made about $15k less this year because of all the time he took off. We’re still legally married and in PA.
For child support, the court only looks at income, healthcare costs, and childcare expenses.
His lawyer will probably argue that his income is lower than it really is.
You should push for them to count what he could be making. This happens all the time in PA. My husband’s ex was ordered to be counted at her full earning potential because of her education, even though she never worked in that field.
@HarryIan4
Yep, same here in PA. They used full-time income for my ex, no special proof needed. Just ask for his full-time wages to be counted. Time off doesn’t matter—what matters is what he can earn.
@Gracie
What if he’s a seasonal worker? He does construction and usually takes layoffs in the winter. This year he took 2 months off, but last winter he worked. He could have worked this year too, but he chose not to.
@Harlow
You can ask them to look at past years. If he worked winters before, that shows he can do it. My ex tried the same trick—quit a job that paid $18/hr to make less just to dodge child support. I had proof of his old job and pay stubs from the past two years, and the court ruled based on that higher income. It didn’t matter that he chose not to work as much.
If you know he’s working cash jobs, report it to the IRS. As for the debt—were the credit cards in his name? If they weren’t, you don’t have to pay them. The court won’t really care about all that, though. They just focus on what’s best for the kids.
@Glenn
The credit cards are in my name. They were used for groceries, household expenses, stuff for the kids, and even a new furnace. I did mention his cash jobs in the initial hearing, but they said they couldn’t count it without proof.
Not always the case, but when a non-custodial parent hires an expensive lawyer just to fight child support, judges don’t usually see that in a good light.
Waverly said:
Not always the case, but when a non-custodial parent hires an expensive lawyer just to fight child support, judges don’t usually see that in a good light.
I really hope that’s true! He’s not even paying for the lawyer—his family or his girlfriend is. Our county court is small and more personal, and his lawyer is from a big city, so I’m curious to see how that plays out.
I’m not trying to take every penny from him. I just want him to support his kids. And honestly, I hope the court sees through the fact that he suddenly wants 3 nights a week or 50/50 custody only after the child support hearing. We’ve been separated for 7 months, and he never asked for more time until now.
@Harlow
Or maybe he actually wants to spend more time with his kids? Child support savings wouldn’t make up for the extra time, effort, and money needed to care for them more often.
Effie said: @Harlow
Or maybe he actually wants to spend more time with his kids? Child support savings wouldn’t make up for the extra time, effort, and money needed to care for them more often.
He didn’t care about spending extra time with them for the past 7 months. And he literally admitted in texts that he wants more nights just to lower his support. I offered him more time plenty of times before, but he was more interested in partying.
My sister’s ex does the scheduling at his job and purposely gives himself fewer hours to make his income look lower. He even admitted it in a text—dumb move! Meanwhile, my sister works three jobs. Can’t wait for him to try to lower his support and explain that to the judge.
You really need a lawyer. Your ex has to file a financial affidavit, but he won’t include his cash earnings. A lawyer can bring up those texts you have, and the judge can decide to base support on his real earnings, not just what he claims.
@Gabi
I just can’t afford one. I was a stay-at-home mom for 6 years. I got a decent job after he left, but it barely covers everything. I don’t even want support based on his cash jobs, just on our 2023 tax return instead of his 2024 W-2s since he barely worked.